Reflections: Que Sera Sera…
“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.” Albert Schweitzer
Reflections: Que Sera Sera... Comet Hale-Bopp.
When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother what will I be
Will I be pretty will I be rich
Here’s what she said to meQue Sera Sera
Whatever will be will be
The future’s not ours to see
Que Sera Sera
What will be will be
Do you believe in destiny? Freewill? I was watching an episode of The Simpsons with one of my twins today – it was called “Bart’s Comet.” In it, (and this is my somewhat abbreviated version), a comet is heading for Springfield and everyone is panicking and looking for a place to hide. Ned Flanders, Bart‘s neighbor has a bunker and soon everyone wants to get in. Flanders is a good man and after saying no, he decides to open the doors to everyone. Soon the bunker is full and they can’t close the door. An argument ensues on who should be asked to leave the bunker and, to cut a long story short, Flanders gets kicked out of his bunker because Homer (Bart’s curmudgeon dad) decides that one person with no useful skill the “world of the future” will need is the owner of a left-handed store; the left handed Flanders. Remember when parents forced their lefty children to switch hands… ? Gladly, that practice has long disappeared.
“Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.” Henry Hancock
Reflections: Que Sera Sera... Albanian Bunkers.
When I grew up and fell in love
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead
Will we have rainbows day after day
Here’s what my sweetheart saidQue Sera Sera
Whatever will be will be
The future’s not ours to see
Que Sera Sera
What will be will be
Ever the goody two shoes, Flanders agrees to leave the bunker (clearly an outrage) and must face the impending comet alone. He stands on top of a hill overlooking the town of Springfield and starts singing Que Sera Sera. What caught my attention, triggering an old memory, was when Flanders started singing “When I was a little girl… ” I thought: Wait a minute, WTF, why is he singing that part? He is a man! Anyway, It brought back a flood of memories from my childhood when my mom would sing it when I asked her what the future held or what I should do. Que sera sera… Whatever will be, will be.
***Before I continue, today is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday; he was a man with a great destiny. Please read: Kismet: A Single Garment of Destiny. Artboy68 has a fantastic blog destined for greatness: 100 portraits, where he’s made a commitment to draw portraits of bloggers and other people he knows/connects with. He drew a portrait of me yesterday and is offering to draw one for the winner of his 100th portrait contest. Go enjoy his blog and enter the contest. Thank you again Artboy68 for the portrait drawing! More on Flanders below… 😉
“Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice: It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” William Jennings Bryan
Reflections: Que Sera Sera... Singing along.
Now I have children of my own
They ask their mother what will I be
Will I be handsome will I be rich
I tell them tenderlyQue Sera Sera
Whatever will be will be
The future’s not ours to see
Que Sera Sera
What will be will be
Que Sera Sera
Not long after Flanders leaves, everyone starts feeling guilty, and decide to come out of the bunker and sing along with him. As they stood on the hill singing and hugging, the comet hit the bunker and blew it up… Even though the original event that led Flanders to the hill was a selfish act by Homer (he voted Flanders out of the bunker), the fact that everyone realized it was unfair to leave Flanders outside saved their lives. They made a wise choice. Are we paying attention to the fact that we are marching towards our destiny with each choice we make? Que sera sera… Whatever will be, will be. What are your thoughts? Do you believe in destiny? Karma? Choice over chance? What do you do when situations seem out of your control? Do share! Thank you. 😉
Positive Motivation Tip: Whether we believe in Choice, Chance, Karma, or that we are Masters of Destiny won’t matter if we ignore that actions = consequences… Que sera, sera.
Related articles
- I’m not a quitter (currentlocationwonderland.wordpress.com)
- Que sera Que sera For, whatever there is will soon be all… (sebaxxxtian.tumblr.com)
- Reflections: Do You Believe In Luck? (eof737.wordpress.com)
- Reflections: On Dreams & Destiny… (eof737.wordpress.com)
- Kismet: A Single Garment of Destiny (eof737.wordpress.com)
- Que sera, sera (knittednotes.wordpress.com)
- Doris Day Talks ‘Que Sera, Sera’ and Her Famous Leading Men (pbpulse.com)
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos Comet Hale-Bopp, War Bunkers, Singers – Ercole de’ Roberti, via Wikipedia and/or Flickr
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Yes, I do believe in karma *and* free will. Karma’s like the blueprint but within it, we have the freedom to choose.
Years ago, my boss at a small company used to say, it’ll all come out in the wash. I remember getting really mad at him. I couldn’t understand how he could be so nonchalant about these important things. Now, I find myself leaving more and more things to come out in the wash. I know enough now to know when I’ve done my best and when to leave well enough alone.
I believe in the law of karma… but I can’t say I’ve known anyone get their comeuppance… Maybe it’s best to leave well enough alone. TY! 🙂
Oh, I have! I must say, it was delicious to watch. Hehehehehe!!! Sorry to be so gleeful but it was worth it.
Haha, thank you, Elizabeth, for allowing Matt Groening to warm my heart! Wonderful, fun post! (And I love the portrait!!!)
I had fun with it and might consider doing more… Glad to see you stop by. TY! 🙂
what a wonderful post my friend,
still we can’t tell of whats going to happen tomorrow.what we can do is hope and pray that whatever it will be… at least or somehow there’s a lesson enclosed with it.It maybe bad or good whether we believe in choice or destiny I hope we’ll be strong enough to face the consequences…Que Sera Sera…
We can’t tell the future but we can live our best life in the present, with hope and prayer. TY for stopping by! 🙂
I believe in Destiny but partly we influence the outcome of our fate because of the decisions we make. Each door that we choose leads to a room, to another life experience. I do believe in a higher power that guides us all but we have to take an active part in achieving our hopes and dreams. If we want happiness, we find ways to just do that and pursue it. if we leave everything to fate, before we realized it, we lost time because we just waited and waited. We all have to search and work for each and every dream. Thanks for today’s inspiration . Have a wonderful day.
Yes, our choices are part of our destiny and that is why we are always encouraged to act with wisdom… I believe in a higher power too. TY. 😉
great entry and comments, all! what I like most about this blog is knowing every time i visit, i come away with great food for thought! Also, thanks for sharing the info on Artboy’s project! another excellent ‘follow!!’
TY and I’m enjoying your blog too… How are the classes going? Will stop for the colder season? 🙂
sometimes we discover Choice, Chance, Karma or Destiny
– and sometimes idiocy: it’s not always fate but often ignorance, stupid grabbing of luxury etc.
Yes, ignorance plays a big part and petty hatreds too… but we make our bed and we must lie in it… TY! 🙂
I like “Que Sera Sera” because many people(Japanese people?) are too serious. It’s important to try and error. The result will follow you. 🙂
TY Cocomino! We have very serious people here and everywhere. I agree with you that we all need to relax and accept that to err is human. 🙂
Absolutely great entry I love that song when i`m was a kid 🙂
I still love it now… as a big kid. TY! 😆
Loved your portrait . . . Positive Kismet! 😀
I believe that our purpose is to discover our purpose and pursue it with passion.
TY Nancy! Yes, and once we discover our purpose and embrace it, the world is our oyster. 🙂
I definitely believe in karma. Now I have to go check out your portrait!
b
Thank you Barb! The portrait is drawn from my Twitter avatar… I love it. TY! 😉
I love your retelling of that segment in Bart’s Comet. It’s a great lesson for us all to pay attention to our choices which do have consequences. Doris has a beautiful voice. Que sera sera!
B
Yes TY! I enjoyed the lesson of the episode and the humor tied to it too… Doris does sing beautifully… like an angel. 🙂
nice post.
and yes!! what will be will be.
fate, kismet, it exists and it’s real.
I love that quote: “Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.”
We sure have to work for our destiny – but it is also true that our destiny makes us work 🙂
My face to face encouter with fate I share here:
http://mindblur.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/a-chance-encounter/
Lots of work needs to be done on many levels… I also feel that we don’t have all the answers on that subject of destiny and freewill as there is some mystery to it too. TY! 🙂
I will check out your post. TY! 🙂
I believe in Karma but also that we can create a good reality if we live our lives as well and kindly as we possible can. Great drawing that artboy has done!
TY and TY! and I agree that our actions play a part in our karmic destiny. 🙂
Easily the best blog post you’ve ever written. If you write a blog entirely about the Simpsons, I will read it.
What a wonderful surprise! It was fun to write and I’m glad you had a good laugh over it. I’m considering your suggestion as I do like that show. TY! 😉
Choose to do the best I can with what I think is the right thing based on my experience, the information I have, the circumstances I am in and what I feel in my heart to be right. And then jump:)
I agree with you on that point… we choose to do our best and trust the rest will follow. TY! 🙂
Karma all the way–you get what you give.
I hear you… and then some. TY! 🙂
I have nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award. http://365vets.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/hope-versatility-and-liebster-oh-my/
TY so much for your award… It is much appreciated! I will stop by to thank you on your blog too. 🙂
What could evoke more positive feelings than a salute to both Homer Simpson and Doris Day! I chuckled at your illustration and commend you for its brilliance! You kind of “got me” in this, though. I’m not completely sure how I can answer to something as mysterious as I believe this aspect of life to be. I do believe that we participate in our destiny. I know I also sense a Divine guidance, so I guess I’m comforted by the belief that I have independent choice, but if I’m a careful “listener” I can also respond to something we can call destiny, or a higher guiding spirit (or I call God) and feel a great comfort in the peace that comes with that cooperation. I’m not sure how well I said it, but I do believe it! 🙂 Debra
😆 TY dear one… You love them too? Awesome. Yes, there is a mystery to it and I’m with you on that… It is made up of parts A, B, C and D. TY! 🙂
Ah the destiny question…there are something’s I knew as a child which became confirmed later as truth which would indicate destiny. The intricacies of the issue I have not figured out….yet
Neither have I… There is a mystery to it even as we say action = consequence. TY! 🙂
Aw I so love this song! I’ve been learning it at school when I was small and my whole class sang it during the music day. Destiny… well I think that we are somehow victims of fate but we can also take control of it. It is like swimming in the sea. If we don’t move, we’ll be taken by the waves but we can control which direction we wish to go with efforts and willpower 🙂
Fabulous portrait, Elizabeth – love the angle of capture and the expression 😀
Re – karma – it would be good if people got what they deserve but life really ain’t like that most of the time…
I too have childhood memories of that song… which is quite ingrained in my memory, actually. But I don’t entirely agree – I don’t believe that attitude is the same thing as karma. You can control your destiny, and you can control the amount of karma (good and bad) that you receive, and that you dish out. At least, that’s my feeling anyway…